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Welcoming the New Regional Facilitator for the Middle East

29 August 2017

Joel (left) and his wife Fiona (right) with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

The Anglican Alliance are pleased to welcome Joel Kelling as the first Regional Facilitator for the Middle East.

In this new role, Joel will work both as the Regional Facilitator for the Anglican Alliance, and also as the Provincial Administrator for the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, covering the Dioceses of Cyprus & the Gulf, Egypt and North Africa, Iran, and Jerusalem.

Through these roles Joel will seek to build the capacity of the churches of the Province in regard to development, relief and advocacy, and create greater sustainability within the institutions of the Province.

Joel originally qualified as an architect in the UK, gaining an interest in the issues of International Development and Humanitarian Relief following volunteering in the UK and Ghana with Habitat for Humanity, then going on to study for an MA in Development and Emergency Practice at Oxford Brookes University, where he met his wife, Fiona.

Fiona and Joel have since travelled to the Philippines, working in relief efforts following Typhoon Haiyan, and on to Jerusalem, where Joel moved into serving in the Church, as Executive Assistant to Dean Hosam Naoum. He was instrumental in the organisation and coordination of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby’s visit to the Holy Land earlier in 2017, assisting in the life of the Cathedral Close, and has been involved in facilitating both Ecumenical and Inter-faith work in Jerusalem.

Joel says “I am looking forward to continuing to support and uphold the Christians of the Middle East, promoting a ministry of reconciliation, and helping to support greater cooperation and coordination across the Province.”

He will initially be based in Jerusalem with plans to move to Amman, Jordan in 2018

Rev Andy Bowerman, Co-Executive Director at the Anglican Alliance said “We are delighted to welcome Joel after a careful process of consultation, prayer and discernment with the Province. His appointment comes at a crucial moment in the story of the region and we ask others around the communion to join with us in praying for him as he seeks to fulfil these two demanding roles”.

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